Chapter 152: Help me out a bit! General Jing Yuan!
「 A lone phantom flower is not difficult to shatter; once Stelle charges with her Blazing Lance, the petals swiftly incinerate in the raging inferno. Yet, the true peril lies in the power of 『 Abundance 』, for the phantom flowers are bound to the Ambrosial Arbor's roots. Before the petals can even fully char, new ones are already reborn within the flames.
"Stelle, just like last time…" Welt exchanged a knowing glance with Stelle, and in the next instant, a simulated black hole materialized upon the Ambrosial Arbor's roots.
The black hole visibly dissolved and devoured the roots. Deprived of their power source, the Phantasia Blooms' radiance rapidly dimmed, withering and decaying before their very eyes.
It worked!
March 7th was about to leap up in excitement, but before she could even rise on her tiptoes, a sudden gale erupted around them, as if ushering in countless dark clouds, enshrouding the Ambrosial Arbor's roots like an iron cage.
Stelle suddenly felt the sky darken before her eyes—
She rubbed her fist against her eye, her lids pressed shut, feeling a sharp pain beneath them. In a daze, she saw a "dark cloud" slowly drift towards Welt, who was further away from them.
For a moment, she didn't feel right:
—Something was definitely wrong!
This was Scalegorge Waterscape; they were within the sealed space of the Ambrosial Arbor's roots, surrounded only by mist. Where could dark clouds possibly come from?
Stelle instinctively looked up. Only then did she clearly see that the so-called dark cloud was merely a colossal fan, large enough to obscure the heavens. Phantylia, witnessing the severance of the roots, had extended a hand, attempting to blow Welt away with a fierce gust of wind.
"Mr. Welt!"
Dan Heng blurted out instinctively, but alas, the aquatic dragon in his hands had yet to fully coalesce. In that critical moment, a towering golden figure appeared beside Phantylia!
—Lightning-Lord!
A sudden ambush descended, swift and furious as a tempest! 」
「 .....」
〜Bleach World〜
Inside the Seireitei—
"—Amazing! It's the Lightning-Lord!"
Kuchiki Rukia exclaimed, her delight barely concealed in her eyes, bursting forth with excitement.
After witnessing Phantylia's mountain-like, imposing physique and personally experiencing that suffocating pressure, it was undeniable… her mind had, for a time, been consumed by pessimistic thoughts.
Phantylia didn't merely wield the power of 『 Destruction 』; bolstered by the power of 『 Abundance 』, this was practically a death sentence for General Jing Yuan and the Express crew.
But upon seeing the Lightning-Lord raise his Guan Dao towards Phantylia, she involuntarily let out a long sigh of relief…
Yes, Jing Yuan was also an Emanator. Since it was an Emanator-level battle, one should not completely underestimate either side, especially since the Lightning-Lord was a power bestowed by the Star God of The Hunt.
"As long as they sever Phantylia's connection to the Ambrosial Arbor, there's still a chance, but that doesn't seem easy to accomplish… Can Dan Heng hold Phantylia's attention?"
With a long sigh, Kyoraku Shunsui sat in the Captain-Commander's seat, his right hand propping up his chin, his left hand gently tapping the armrest. Even though the Express crew's battle in the light screen had little to do with the current Seireitei, Shunsui instinctively began to analyze the battle situation.
As the Lightning-Lord in the light screen brought his Guan Dao down, the Captains felt a flash before their eyes, as if hearing the resounding boom of thunder.
—They had endured countless battles, yet they had never heard such a heavy, resonant thunder, almost shaking the very foundations of the Soul Society.
"Phew, that strike… I thought the Lightning-Lord was going to cleave the Seireitei in half."
Hirako Shinji let out a long breath, squinting his eyes. The fleeting flash momentarily blurred his vision. Once his sight returned, he instinctively looked at Soi Fon, who sat directly opposite him—
It wasn't just his gaze… at least six or seven Captains directed their attention to her. In everyone's memory, only her Bankai, Suzumebachi Raikōben, could cause such a massive commotion.
"Please, stop looking at me… my Bankai can't achieve that kind of power."
Soi Fon, of course, understood what everyone was implying, spreading her hands in a gesture of helplessness.
While her Bankai possessed immense power, its destructive capability was limited to the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the Human World… she was quite self-aware of her own strength. Even if her Bankai's power were multiplied tenfold, it would likely fall far short of the Lightning-Lord's single strike.
Ultimately… Emanator-level combat power was completely on a different dimension from theirs, wasn't it?!
"Look! The Lightning-Lord's strike worked!"
Following Kuchiki Rukia's excited voice, the Captains all turned their gaze back to the light screen. Only then did they discover that a portion of Phantylia's left arm had begun to gradually disintegrate.
—
「 "A futile struggle." Phantylia's voice remained unhurried. Under the blessing of 『 Abundance 』, her damaged body was regenerating at an incredibly fast pace.
But she also realized that among this group, Jing Yuan, also an Emanator, was the most troublesome one.
"Care to try breaking free from this cage?" She raised a large hand, and instantly, countless vines sprouted from the ground, assailing Jing Yuan from all directions.
"Mere vines, easily severed with a single blade." Jing Yuan chuckled lightly, his Guan Dao flipping in his hand, instantly cleaving all the surrounding vines.
However, with the blessing of 『 Abundance 』, these severed vines rapidly regrew, twisting and reaching out towards Jing Yuan once more.
In an instant, Jing Yuan was like a grand general charging through a battlefield, his brilliance undimmed by a thousand armies. His Guan Dao flew like a strong reed in the wind, or like the unrestrained cursive script of a master calligrapher, unfurling across the parchment of white mist. 」
「 .....」
〜Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World〜
"So cool! Jing Yuan!"
Watching Jing Yuan's god-like combat, Stark excitedly cheered. At the same time, the other patrons in the tavern were infected by his outburst, raising their cups and shouting in praise of Jing Yuan's performance.
"Beat her! Jing Yuan! Beat her like my wife beats me!"
"She's so big, she must be clumsy! Stelle, quick, stab her with your Blazing Lance!"
"I thought this Phantylia had some other tricks up her sleeve. Turns out, she's just like the Abundant Ebon Deer, only knows how to summon branches."
"…"
Listening to the discussions of the tavern patrons, Frieren also felt the situation looked promising. Although Jing Yuan hadn't caused any substantial threat to Phantylia, Dan Heng, the High Elder, hadn't truly made his move yet.
Once Dan Heng entered the fray, perhaps the scales of victory would be broken.
"Phantylia isn't causing them much trouble, is she?"
Stark chuckled heartily.
"I just wonder when Dan Heng and Stelle will make their move? Just wearing down General Jing Yuan isn't a solution; that nasty woman needs to feel some pain, too."
"I don't think it's that simple."
Frieren propped her chin with one hand, stating calmly,
"Phantylia's identity is an Emanator of Destruction(Lord Ravager), yet so far, she hasn't used 『 Destruction 』 but has been fighting with '『 Abundance 』,' as if intentionally trying to wear them down—"
Her words abruptly ceased.
Suddenly, Frieren's face instantly paled as if sensing something.
Almost in the same instant, Frieren pressed Fern and Stark's heads down in front of her, the elven mage who had lived for over a thousand years, uttering such a nervous tremor for the first time:
"Fern, close your eyes. Do not open them, no matter what."
—